What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, refers to the internet marketing strategy used to improve a website’s visibility within search engines.

What is search engine optimization?

The process of search engine optimization usually involves editing website text and HTML code. If that sounds scary, worry not. What matters most to search engines is the text, the words you choose to use on your web pages. Google, for instance, developed and continues to refine a comprehensive, ever-changing algorithm for search relevancy. If you’re as old as I am, you probably remember the days of irrelevant search results. We were pretty much rolling the dice when we searched for something on the internet in 1999. We rarely found anything remotely close to what we were looking for. Today, however, Google’s super smart algorithm is extremely effective in targeting relevant search results. I don’t know about you, but I almost never click on page 2 search results anymore. Good riddance!

How do search engines work?

Let’s talk about the search engine algorithm. You may have noticed that the term “search engine” is nearly synonymous with Google. That’s because Google is the #1 search engine in the world. It’s also my favorite. Bing and Yahoo are nearly tied for 2nd & 3rd place, but neither are remotely close to the popularity of Google. To that end, we care about Google’s algorithm most.

Google doesn’t make public service announcements when they update the almighty algorithm. There’s some mystery, and that’s because altruism isn’t exactly a common practice among marketing professionals. The mystery is very necessary. As I’m sure you know, most industries are flooded with marketing tricksters and con artists, and the world of SEO is no different. It’s called black hat SEO. This dark art is an aggressive and deceptive tactic used to increase website rankings in an unethical manner. Google has become an expert in staying several steps ahead of black hat SEO perpetrators. Secret operations aside, we do know a good deal about the algorithm. If you remember only one rule, let it be this one: Make sure the content on your website or blog is written well and filled with accurate information. This one rule will get you far with Google. If you’re up for learning a few more tips, I’ve assembled a Top 5 SEO Tips list for you. No coding necessary. You might be surprised to find out SEO good practice isn’t so hard, and much of it is common sense.

Thressa Willett is a freelance writer specializing in SEO content writing. She also writes for the Portland Buzz, a media website that provides quality content and exposure for businesses in and around Portland, Maine.